Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity · SOC 53-3052

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity Salary in the Washington Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

Figures describe the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Washington city limits.

Median annual wage$65,220
Median hourly wage$31.35

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earned a median of $65,220 per year ($31.35 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $50,360 at the 10th percentile to $92,320 at the 90th. BLS estimates 4,070 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in the Washington metro area earn more than $65,220 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $55,260 and $81,480.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$50,360$55,260$65,220$81,480$92,320
Hourly$24.21$26.57$31.35$39.17$44.38

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Washington metro areathis metro area
    $65,220 median for Washington metro area; middle half earns $55,260 to $81,480
  • $55,580 median for District of Columbia; middle half earns $55,580 to $57,650
  • $59,050 median for United States; middle half earns $47,530 to $70,700

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +17% vs District of Columbia overall and +10% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$22,520$45,167$67,813$90,460Enid, OK — $22,520Ponce, PR — $23,030San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $32,230Hot Springs, AR — $32,720Brownsville-Harlingen, TX — $35,250Dothan, AL — $36,920Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $36,920Monroe, LA — $36,950Abilene, TX — $37,010Texarkana, TX-AR — $37,280Lawton, OK — $37,640Tuscaloosa, AL — $37,780Birmingham, AL — $37,890Bowling Green, KY — $38,310Jackson, MS — $38,570El Paso, TX — $38,730Killeen-Temple, TX — $38,800Longview, TX — $38,990Tyler, TX — $38,990Corpus Christi, TX — $39,110Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ — $39,120Springfield, MO — $39,600Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $40,580Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $41,030Wichita, KS — $41,340Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $41,350Huntsville, AL — $41,910McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX — $42,360Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $42,830Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $43,330Sioux City, IA-NE-SD — $43,720Janesville-Beloit, WI — $43,740Jefferson City, MO — $43,980Greensboro-High Point, NC — $44,060Wausau, WI — $44,440Mankato, MN — $44,730Columbia, SC — $44,750Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL — $44,760Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV — $44,810Bismarck, ND — $45,130North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $45,330Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $45,450Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX — $45,620Chattanooga, TN-GA — $45,700Roanoke, VA — $45,760Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ — $46,140Clarksville, TN-KY — $46,190Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $46,430Las Cruces, NM — $46,430Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $46,460Albuquerque, NM — $46,510Omaha, NE-IA — $46,740York-Hanover, PA — $46,760Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $46,790Raleigh-Cary, NC — $46,800Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $46,810Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $46,830Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $46,860Santa Fe, NM — $46,900Michigan City-La Porte, IN — $46,910Midland, MI — $47,050Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $47,460Columbus, GA-AL — $47,570Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $47,580Flint, MI — $47,660Fort Smith, AR-OK — $47,910Bozeman, MT — $47,920Charlottesville, VA — $47,950Youngstown-Warren, OH — $48,030Reno, NV — $48,080Jacksonville, FL — $48,120Pittsfield, MA — $48,200Rockford, IL — $48,200Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $48,300New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $48,860Fargo, ND-MN — $48,890Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $49,000Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $49,310Evansville, IN — $49,430Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH — $49,430Tulsa, OK — $49,440Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $49,500Iowa City, IA — $49,590Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $50,220Richmond, VA — $50,270Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $50,430Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $50,730Topeka, KS — $50,800San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $50,880Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $50,900Peoria, IL — $50,930Champaign-Urbana, IL — $51,010Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $51,070Syracuse, NY — $51,210Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $51,480Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $51,790Midland, TX — $51,950Ogden, UT — $51,990Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $52,000Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $52,100Flagstaff, AZ — $52,360Johnstown, PA — $52,440Sheboygan, WI — $52,540Cleveland, OH — $52,610Cedar Rapids, IA — $52,950Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $53,020Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $53,020Boise City, ID — $53,050Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $53,560San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $54,140Lexington-Fayette, KY — $54,740Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $56,110Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $56,120Missoula, MT — $56,570Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $56,940Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $57,020Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $57,050Oklahoma City, OK — $57,400Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $57,500Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — $57,780Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $57,800Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $57,980Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $58,490Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $58,870Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $58,930Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $59,120Kansas City, MO-KS — $59,360Napa, CA — $59,560Eau Claire, WI — $59,660Pittsburgh, PA — $59,720Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $60,100Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $60,320Worcester, MA — $60,470Watertown-Fort Drum, NY — $60,620Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $60,750Kahului-Wailuku, HI — $61,030St. Louis, MO-IL — $61,080Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $61,100Lincoln, NE — $61,120Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $61,250San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $61,290Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $61,360Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $61,470Fresno, CA — $62,170Rochester, NY — $62,420Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $62,630Colorado Springs, CO — $63,010Portland-South Portland, ME — $63,360Anchorage, AK — $63,450Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $65,200Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $65,220Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA — $65,360Ann Arbor, MI — $65,370Eugene-Springfield, OR — $65,510Springfield, MA — $65,770Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $66,590Boulder, CO — $66,840Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $67,420Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $68,020Urban Honolulu, HI — $68,500Akron, OH — $70,000Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $70,120Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $70,680Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ — $70,700Salinas, CA — $71,290Columbus, OH — $73,790New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $78,130San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $78,900Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $80,170Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $83,430Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $90,460

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Washington metro area has the 21st-highest published median for this occupation among the 171 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Highest-paying metro areas for bus drivers, transit and intercitys · Highest-paying occupations in Washington Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.